Cremation-furnace.



W, CHEETHAM.

(, REMATION FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.18, 1913.

1,147,310. 1 Patented July 20, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

1 INVENTOR; [Wm/135,55.- WHL 75/? CHEEZHHM I HIS ATTORNEYS.

v3 UHEETHAM.

CREMATION FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18. 1913.

1,147,310 PatentedJuly 20, 1.915.

SHEETS-SHEET 2.

[NI EN TOR.

PANT OFFICE.

TIZ'ALTEB CHEETHAM,OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO GEORGE D. BROWN,

OF PASADENA, CALIFORNIA.

CREIVIATION-FURNACE.

Application filed March 18,

a spe iica'tion.

Th .r'vent ion relates to furnaces such as 120 are used for the cremation of bodies.

The object. of the invention is to provide a li a-nave in whi h the heat is applied first to th rt ofthe body which possesses the great properties. I 'A'm the invention is to pro ride a 'rurnace which operates with rapidity a d eihcienev to crein'ate bodies.

' e inrentioi'i poss .es other advantafeature which, h the foregoing, "be set forth at length in the following ion, where l shall outline in full arm of the invention which l hare see n fing and forming part of the preswiicaiion. The jni'u'elty of the invenl be included in the claims sueeeedl discription. l ron'i this it will be that i' do n t limit myself to the made by s: drawings and dea. may adopt many variations "UPC of my invention as eX- id claims. to said drawings: Figure 1 is of the furnace with the doors 'l ig. is a horizontal cross secfurnace taken on the line CC F g. 3 is a transverse cross sect the furnace taken on the e a. 4r a longitudinal onal elevation taken on the center 7 I *he f1 ace. furnace eoxrxsts of a structi'u'e of other tire and heat resisting mate ing a top and side walls 3 of t thickness a meme and retain the a the turn ithin the furnace preferably theretl'irough to nd iber or retort 4 Jody. The retort frontand rear ,ioors 5-6 which are snitahlc means so that they I .y raised and lowered. Lying he floor 7 of the tort chamber at, at op- 2 sides thereof a: .hannel irons 8 upon Patented July 20, 1915.

1913. Serial NO. 755,122.

which the rollers which support the casket rest.

iclmrthe retort. chamber, and preferably at oppositelsides of the center thereof are chambers opening at the rear of the furnace, in which the [ire for producing the desired heat is arranged, preferably at the rear end of the chambers or fire boxes. lielow the fire boxes .0 and separated therefrom by grates 26 are the ash pit-s 12.

Between the chambers and below the center of the retort chamber 4 is a chamber 13, closed at its front end by the front wall of the furnace and open at its rear end. The diViding walls 14 separating the chamber 13 from the fire boxes are cut away at the front end, forming apertures 15 through which the heat from, the lire passes into the chamber 13.

The floor 7 of the retort chamber 4- is provided. with an aperture or apertures, prefstantially along its center line,andis,usually' made about fire feet in lengtlupalthough this length may be varied. I

The casket is placed in the retort chamber from. the front'and rests directly above the slot 16. The heated air and. gases of combustion entering through the slot are, therefore. directed against the back of the body, subjecting that part, which is generally the last t be cremated, to-the greatest heat. Bythus directing the heat directly against the most resistant part of the body, that part is eon sumed at the same time as the less resistant parts, thereby greatly shortening the time required for cremation. As the body is destroyed, the ashes fall through the slot; 16 into the chamber 13 from which they are later Withdrawn.

The smoke and hot gases from the retort chamber pass through the lines 17, arranged in a circuitous path in the top of the furnace, to the stack 18, whence they are discharged. A damper 19 in the stack regulates the draft therein. The lines 17 arcarranged in the top of the furnace for the purpose of heating the same, which heat is utilized to raise the temperature ofthe air which is fed to the fires and retort chamber. The back of the furnace is provided with hinged doorsyayhich when closed, cover the openings of the fire boxes, ash pits and charm ber 13, so that all noise due to the roar of the fire. is substantially eliminated, and to prevent the inrush of cold air which would 1igeduce the temperature of the retort cham- Air for the fires is supplied by the blower 21 which drives theair through the circuitous passage 22 arranged in the top of the furnace, and through the vertical passages 23 extending downward at the rear of the furnace and opening into the ash-pits. The air in passing through these passages becomes pre-heated and the temperature of the fire raised, accordingly. Arranged in the sides of the retort chamber 4 are apertures 24 connecting the retort chamber with the passages 23, said apertures-being controlled by dampers 25-, which are moved by any suitable nieans. These apertures 24 occur adjacent the top wall of retort chamber at differ ent heights, so that air may be admitted into the chamber at different levels. Air is admitted through the apertures 24 to cause the consumption of the smoke in the retort chamber and prevent it from being discharged from the stack. By admitting the air at different levels adjacent the top of the chamber, I' have found that the smoke is consumed to a greater extent than if the air were admitted at one aperture. When the cremation process is well under way, the dampers 25 maybe opened and the rear door of the retort chamber partly raised, thereby producing" a false draft which reduces the rate at which the fuel is being consumed, and

thereby creating a considerable saving in fuel.

It is to be understood that I do not limit myself 'to the construction shown in the drawings, or to the use of two fire boxes, since it is evident that one fire box of larger capacity may be employed and that various other changes inconstruction may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

1 claim:

1. A crematory furnace comprising a furnace chamber, a floor for said chamber, a fire box below the floor, said floor being formed a substantial portion of its length with a narrow longitudinal slot through which the heat passes from the fire pit upward against the'casket, thereby concentrating the heat at this point the remaining portion of the floor of said chamber being imperforate and an exit tlue leading from the end of the furnace chamber opposite the end thereof in which said slot is located.

2. A crematory furnace comprisin a furenth day of March 1913.

' WALTER CHEETHAM. In presence of- J. W. ALBRIGHT, H. G. lnos'r.

my hand at Oakland, California, this sev- 

